


Can we survive Until Dawn?

by ShandrisCZ



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game), Youtubers, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Everybody Lives, F/M, Mark and Jack basically belong to this group, including Josh, that means everybody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 12:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5626048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandrisCZ/pseuds/ShandrisCZ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack and Mark come back with their friends on the mountain to honour the memory of Beth and Hannah Washington. They weren't there the year the prank took place and they still can't help but wonder what they could have done to save them. But these thoughts have to be pushed aside as shit starts to go down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friendship/Memento Mori

  Mark and Jack were watching Ashley as she was standing at the telescope that was in front of the Washington's lodge. She was there for at least five minutes and didn't look as if she was about to stop. Not that they blamed her, the view was indeed amazing from up here.

  "Man, where are they?" whined Jack for the hundreth time which caused Mark to chuckle and ruffle his neon green hair affectionately.

  "You know it's not even half past nine. And we were supposed to be here at ten."  
Jack grumbled something under his breath as he was trying to style his hair back to their previous form.

  "I know, I know. It's just really cold out here," he sighed and Mark couldn't help but to agree. It was pretty cold. He looked over at his friend and noticed that his ears and nose were an adorable shade of pink from the cold.

  "Do you want my beanie?" asked Mark with a small smile and without even waiting for Jack to respond he already pulled the thing off, pulling it on his friend's head. Jack huffed an amused chuckle when it covered his eyes and pulled it a little up.

  "Thanks," he said and they fell in comfortable silence. That was before Mark asked a question that was hanging above them the whole time they were on the mountain.

  "Do you ever wonder what we could have done if we were here last year?"

  "Yeah. Hardly a day passes without me not thinking about it."

  They looked at each other, both knowing that they were at the same page here. What happened last year was both shocking and terrible. They didn't manage to get to the winter getaway last year and when Chris told them what happened to Beth and Hannah...

  "Ohh," suddenly escaped Ashley and they both looked at her.

  "Whoa. Hello. Somebody's getting a little 'friendly'...and not in the 'friend zone' kind of way. They mind need to check the expiration date on their big breakup."

  Before either Mark or Jack could have asked Ash what she was talking about she suddenly jumped away from the telescope, a small yelp escaping her. Mark and Jack immediately shot up and ran over to her. Just for them to see their friend Matt jog over to them with a huge smile on his face.

  "Whoa! Sorry there...Sorry about that Ash, I didn't mean to scare you-"

  "Jeez louise, Matt-" said Ashley, not willing to look at Matt as Mark and Jack sighed with relief.

  "Well I did mean to scare you 'sort of' scare you but not like for real scare you...hey guys," he said with a small smile when he spotted Mark and Jack who were standing a bit away before Ashley punched his shoulder.

  "Oh my gosh...oh my gosh..."

  "Hey, wow, man, I'm really sorry Ash, damn-"

  "It's okay...it's fine...it's fine..."

  Matt once again shot an apollogetic sort of smile at Mark and Jack before turning back to Ashley.

  "What are you looking at? See anything juicy with that thing?" he tried to make her forget about the scare that he just gave her by changing the subject.

  "Uh-"

  "Lemme check it out."

  "Um...sure...go ahead. Knock yourself out, I guess..." said Ashley after a while, walking towards Mark and Jack who both noticed how guilty she suddenly looked. Jack asked her something in a hushed voice so Mark couldn't quite hear and she whispered something quickly back.

  "Aw, son of a bitch. Seriously, Emily? What the hell, man."

  "Hey, listen - it's probably nothing..."

  "Nothing? You think? Is it ever just nothing with Em? Ever?"

  "I don't kno-" stammered Ashley, looking at Mark and Jack in silent cry for help.

  "Goddammit."

  "Matt..." said Ashley for the last time before Matt walked away. She wanted to follow him but Jack caught her arm, letting Mark rush after Matt. Ashley looked after them, her eyes little moist.

 

\---

 

  Mark caught up with Matt rather quickly, despite the quick pace the taller male was walking through the snow.

  "Hey, Matt, come on, let's get back to the lodge."

  "No, thanks. I'll just have a little walk. By myself," said Matt without even looking at him and Mark huffed angrily. He caught Matt's arm and stopped him in his tracks.

  "Listen. Last year I wasn't here to go after my friend when she walked away. And I'm not leaving you alone here. You want to walk? Fine, I'm going with you."

  Matt was looking at him for a while, before he finally nodded, both heading towards the lodge where Ashley and Jack waited for them on one of the benches. As soon as Ashley saw them she shot up and went to Matt, apologising to him in rushed sentenses, during which she started crying again. All he did was smile a little and hug her, saying it's ok. Mark joined Jack on the bench, sighing heavily.

  "Emily's really tearing this family apart," he muttered under his breath and Jack let out a little hum of agreement. This getaway was going to be awful.


	2. Darkness/Jealousy

  "Funny you should say that...ah, I think I left it in my other jacket."

  "Oops."

  Mark and Jack both looked at three of their friends as they were making their way to the cabin. Josh and Chris were just talking about something but they could hear only the last few sentences.

  "Hey guys..." said Josh as he saw them "Get up here okay?"

  "Yeah...Well, more or less but it is so good to see you!" replied Ashley who was sitting on the staircase to the cabin. Josh's eyes flicked towards Matt who was just standing alone.

  "'Sup with him?" he asked in a hushed tone when he finally made his way to Mark and Jack.

  "He's grumpy," said Mark after he and Jack greeted Josh with a nod of their heads. Josh and Chris just shrugged at that and went to open the cabin door.

  "What happened?" whispered Sam in fear that Matt would hear her.

  "He saw Mike and Emily getting all touchy," replied Jack in the same whispered voice.

  "Oh boy."

  Mark and Jack grunted in agreement. They all knew that there was going to be a scene once all of them were in one place.

  "Anyway I saw your youtube channel is going along nicely."

  "Yeah. We actually need to record some videos while we're here so we have something to upload when we get back home."

  "That's why you're carrying the bags?" Sam motioned to two carry-alls that were currently sitting behind Ashley.

  "Yep. Hey, would you maybe want to do a little challenge with us? It'll be fun," said Jack with enthusiasm he seemed to always possess. Before Sam could reply though, Mark nudged her, jerking his head in the direction of Ashley who was currently talking to Chris.

  "So...how're you doing?"

  "Mm...good! But a little cold...I think I could use some time curled up by the fire."

  "Yeah, that does sound pretty nice."

  Sam and Jack smiled at each other while Mark faked gagging. Sam slapped him in his shoulder and he grinned at her.

  "Hey Jack. The door is busted, you think you could help us with that?"

  "Sure," said Jack, jogging over to his friends, quickly catching up with them. He heard as Josh was making remarks on how hot Ashley looked today.

  "Now I just want to rip that parka right off her, make some snow angles. Right?"

  "Hey, cut it out, man-"

  "I mean if you're not gonna bang her...maybe Mike'll take up the case."

  "W-...will you back off already?" asked Chris defensively.

  "Mike is with Jess," said Jack in an attempt to calm Chris down as he walked past them.

  "Re-laaax...I'm just checkin' to see if there's some blood flowin' down there."

  "Tsk. Yeah..." said Chris, grumpily.

  "Come on guys. Let's just get the lodge open, for crying out loud," jumped in Jack, who was more cranky from the cold than anything else. Josh gave Chris one last suggestive look before they both followed him.

  "So how are we planning on breaking in to my parents' lodge, bud?"

  "Wait, I didn't say I had a plan-"

  "You sounded like you had a plan. You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got four lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off, and last time I checked, that's not a good way to get laid."

  "Well shoot. Nobody likes cool buns."

  Jack huffed annoyingly at that last comment. So far the only one who had a cool bun on this wretched mountain was him. The rest of the group looked warm enough to him. He almost wanted to say something but then he noticed something weird on the lodge's wall.

  "Hey. The axe is gone..."

  Neither Chris or Josh seemed to be too fazed about this as they walked to a cabinet that was standing there, covered in snow.

  "Well well well. We got ourselves a thinker. Nice one," said Josh as they all moved towards the cabinet, pushing it under the cellar's window. Jack jumped on the cabinet, opening the window without a problem. He climbed through it, his slim figure helping him in the process. He jumped and landed safely on the ground. He turned back to look at his friends and saw that Chris was coming in second. Just as he was pulling himself through the window, his hand slipped and he fell down onto the cellar floor. Jack ran over to him and when he saw he was alright he started laughing.

  "Graceful," he commented through the fits of giggles.

  "Ugh. I'm okay! I should have paid more attention in climbing class," muttered Chris who was still lying on the floor.

  "You mean 'gym'?" asked Josh who was now looking through the window at them.

  "Yeah, you know, with the climbing up the rope-" said Chris as he accepted Jack's offered hand. Jack pulled him up but they both jumped in surprise when the light-bulb shattered.

  "Whoa."

  "Did I do that?"

  "I don't...I don't think so. Here, use this," said Josh as he tossed something at Chris. Jack saw it was a lighter and soon after Chris had it lit up. So they weren't at least as blind as before.

  "Whoa- guys- I just got an awesome idea."

  "Yeah?"

  "Totally!"

  "Well what is it!?"

  "Okay. So. I am PRETTY sure that I've got some deodorant in one of the bathrooms...you could use THAT with the LIGHTER..."

  "I don't - I don't follow. How's a stick of deodorant gonna help?" asked Chris, exchanging confused glance with Jack.

  "Spray on. It's a can."

  Chris was a little bit faster to catch on what was Josh trying to say.

  "Ohhh...yeah...now I gotcha."

  "Flamethrower."

  "Just like we do with the lil' army dudes."

  "Yup. The ones we melted. Just point the spray-can at the lighter and FWOOSH."

  "Bye-bye frozen lock."

  "Bingo. Alright, so you got this. I'm gonna go sort something out - you up for hunting around in the dark for a little bit?"

  "Nope," said Jack and Chris in unison "But what other option we have?"

  "Godspeed, pil'grim," was the last thing Josh told them before disappearing in the dark forest. Jack and Chris immediately started walking towards the living area of the cabin.

  "You know I've also done that with the flamethrower...it's very scary, very dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it."

  "Do you have any other ideas how to get the lock unfrozen?"

  "No," said Jack while trying not to trip over his own feet.

  "Don't worry. I'll do it."

  After that they continued their little journey in silence. They wouldn't admit it to the other but this place was giving them the creeps. As they were walking through the cabin, Jack noticed a wall painting with the Washington Family. Just as they walked around the corner the door at the end of the hall closed.

  "Huh? What the hell was that?"

  "The door closed," said Jack, while trying not to run for the hills. This place was creepy when it was this dark, reminding him of all the horror games he played with Mark for their youtube channel. Chris looked at him, shrugging and opening the door once again. They both entered the main area.

  "Hey, let's try the door from this side," suggested Jack and Chris just nodded in agreement. They walked to them and Chris tried opening but they wouldn't budge. They both looked through the small window and saw Mark, Ashley and Sam waiting outside the door, chatting quietely. Jack glanced at Chris and they both smirked. They both crouched a little, Chris making a ghost moaning kind of noise while Jack scratched at the door. They heard gasps from the outside before Sam's face showed in the window.

  "Hi guys, very funny."

  "Aw. How'd you know it was us?"

  "Ghosts don't moan that way Chris," they heard Mark from behind Sam, who just nodded in agreement.

  "Yeah. Shouldn't you be, like, getting the lock open or something?"

  "On it!"

  Then Chris turned to Jack.

  "Hey, I'm gonna go get the can, just stay here, alright?"

  "Sure, whatever man." Chris wandered off and Jack started walking around the living room. This place was enormous. Even in daylight he had problems with finding his way around it and when it was this dark he thought he might actually get lost. He found a phone with blinking light on it. He pressed the button and suddenly the area around him was filled with the voice of answering machine.

  " _One new message. New message. Hi Mrs. Washington - this is Sergeant Tait again. It's bad news, I'm afraid. We've been through the case files, and there's nothing we can do. He's a free man. We don't have the legal power to restrict his movement. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, so call me if you want to know more. End of messages._ "

  Jack suddenly felt really bad for listening to this. Why was he so curious all the time? This was obviously about the disappearance of Washington's twins. God he still couldn't believe that it really happened. He started walking back to the door when he suddenly heard Chris shout from somewhere upstairs.

  "AHH! SON OF A-! What the fuck!"

  "Dude, are you alright?!"

  "Yeah. I'm fine. Got the can."

  Jack muttered a silent finally. Chris ran down the stairs quickly, showing him the can and walking to the door. He used the provisional flamethrower at the lock while Jack stood a little bit back. He opened the door quickly, bowing a little to Sam, Ashley and Mark.

  "Thank you, thank you thank you, I'll be here all week-" he suddenly screamed and jumped backwards, bumping into Jack who held them up with his last strength.

  "EEEK! Jeez!"

  Sam started laughing at the two of them while Ashley giggled in the background, Mark wheezing.

  "Crap that thing freaked me out."

  "What thing?" asked Jack who didn't really see what it was.

  "Yeah, what was it? Are you okay?" asked Ashley through fits of giggles while supporting Mark who was seriously looking as if he was about to fall down from the force of his laughter.

  "It was like a bear or a tiger or something-" Chris started explaining but Sam cut him off.

  "Aww, it was just a cute little baby wolverine!"

  "Baby?" asked Chris while he finally let go of Jack. Meanwhile Josh jogged up the stairs.

  "Don't worry buddy, you're gonna be a big boy soon," he said while smiling brightly at all of them. Josh, Matt, Mark, Sam and Ashley entered the lodge.

  "Home sweet home," said Josh looking around the dark area of living room.

  "Sweet is not the word I'd use," muttered Matt as he put down the bags he was carrying. Jack helped Mark by taking one of their bags too and they shut the door behind them.

  "Oh my gosh it's SO GOOD to be inside. Even if it's still kinda freezing in here," said Ashley.

  "I'll get a fire going," promised Josh moving to the fireplace.

  "This place barely looks any different," commented Matt, finally snapping a little bit out of his spleen, looking around the big space.

  "Nobody's been up here," called Josh from the fireplace.

  "Even with all the police coming in and out?" asked Ashley.

  "Not a lot of action up here lately," answered Chris.

  "Nope," Josh said quietely. Mark and Jack looked at each other. This wasn't the best way the conversation might have been going in.

  "What's up party people!"

  "Heeey!"

  Greeted them Mike and Jessica who just walked inside. Everybody greeted them in their own way but Mark noticed the odd way Matt was watching Mike and by the way Jack glanced at him, he did too.

  "Make yourself at home, bro."

  "Will do."

  "Yeah, come on in. Take a load off. Have whatever you want. You just take whatever you want anyways, right?"

  Mark and Jack exchanged another look full of concern. They both rememberd how Matt and Mike used to be best buddies and seeing them like this...well. It was just really unnerving to say the least.

  "Woah, easy there, cowboy."

  "What the hell were you doing with Em out on the trail, huh?"

  "What?"

  "I saw you and Em. Through the telescope."

  Jack glanced at Ashley and saw how she was looking guilty all of the sudden.

  "Before? We just ran into each other. It'd been a while so we hugged and I said hello. Is that against the law?"

  "Erm. Right. Right I'm sure it's all it was."

  "You know what? You can think whatever you want. It's a free country."

  "Watch yourself, Mike," he said in a warning, backing then away slowly, sitting on the couch that was opposite the one where Jess was sitting.

  "You know I don't think Emily is that innocent either," whispered Jack to Mark who grunted in response. Mike went to sit next to Jess, putting his arm around her shoulders. Just as they were starting to kiss Emily walked into the room.

  "Oh MY God. That is so gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?"

  "Em," Matt tried but she just continued, completely ignoring everyone else in the room.

  "Seriously can she be any more obvious? No one wants in on your territory, honey."

  "Excuse me, did you say something?"

  Mark, Jack, Sam, Ashley and Chris all looked at each other. The guys fighting was bad but Em and Jess fighting? Someone was going to get hurt...

  "Oh did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?"

  "Oh my god," whispered Jack. Mark only watched in stunned silence as both girls who used to be best friends continued to throw dirt at one another.

  "Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut."

  "Yeah. It's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow."

  "Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecomeing a cow."

  Suddenly Matt stepped into the fight.

  "H-hey, you're making everyone uncomfortable, Jess-"

  "Jealous much? Emily too frigid for you, too?"

  "Hey that's...that's uncalled...look-"

  "Whatever. I don't give a crap what you think."

  "At least I can think. 4.0 bitch, honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job."

  "Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle."

  "Oh please."

  "You couldn't buy a moldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass."

  "Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?"

  "That bitch is on crack or something."

  "Jessica, you need to shut your mouth, okay?" Matt suddenly snapped. But Jessica bit right back.

  "No, you're the one who needs to keep your nose out of other people's business!"

  "I'm about to get right up in your business you bitch-"

  "Are we about to get real? Cause I am down to get real."

  Mark and Jack looked at each other, both ready to rip the two girls appart if they were about to really get into a fight but Josh suddenly yelled at them, making all of them jump in surprise.

  "STOP IT! This is not why we came up here. This is not...helping. It's not what I wanted. If we can't get along for ten minutes then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right? Mike - why don't you check out the guest cabin. The one I told you about."

  "Yeah...Yeah, alright. Want to go do that?" Mike got up and reached his hand for Jess to take.

  "Any place without that whore," she said taking Mike's hand in process.

  "It's right up the trail," Josh told them as they were walking out. Everybody in the room let out the breath they were holding in.

  "Jeeeeez," whispered Jack, rummaging through his bag.

  "Glad that's over. So Josh...uh, should we get this fire going?"

  Ashley and Jack perked up at the promise of warmth which made Chris, Sam and Mark smile. That all lasted just a second before Emily once again spoke.

  "Where's my bag?"

  "Huh?"

  "My bag! The...the little bag with the pink pattern! The one I got on Rodeo!"

  "Oh-oh," Mark whispered. Another crisis.

  "Matt are you listening? Oh my god, don't you remember? Next to the Italian shoe place where I got the stilettos and you knocked over the rack while you were drooling all over that girl at the counter?"

  Jack took a deep breath. He dug deeper into his bag, not really trying to find anything in particular. He was just trying to get distracted from what was happening around him.

  "Well, I mean, she was asking me about my leather jacket-"

  "Right. Because she gave a shit about your 'designer' leather jacket."

  "Why do you hate my jacket?"

  "MATT! I need MY BAG!"¨

  "Oh my god Em, maybe you just forgot it-"

  Jack turned towards Mark, burrying his face into other boy's arm, letting out a pained groan. Mark patted him on his shoulder in a weak attempt to comfort him.

  "Do you seriously think I'd forget my bag?"

  "Well, I-"

  "Do you?"

  "Guess not."

  "You must have left it down by the cable car station."

  "Ugh!"

  "C'mon, hun. We'll be back soon."

  "I think I know why Mike broke up with Em," Mark whispered to Jack who snorted out a laugh at that. Yeah, Emily was bossy...

  "And then we can get warm?"

  "We can get very warm."

  "Okay. Okay. Let's go."

  They left the cabin and the remaining people of the group once again felt the tension going away. Jack looked after them and said silently to no-one in particular "Oh Matt...you poor little innocent man."

  Mark chuckled at that.

  "Okay, I am gonna go take a bath," said Sam, getting up from her place on the stairs, leaving the rest of the group behind as she made her way up to the bathroom.

  "Well then. Guess we should get started on those challenges," said Jack.

  "Yeah, sure. Let's go."

  They moved their bags to the room they were going to stay in for the get-away. It was a small bedroom with two beds on each side of it and a small table by the window.

  "God I feel exhausted," said Jack as he plopped down on one of the beds.

  "Yeah, know what you mean. This isn't the fun get-away we were promised so far."

  Suddenly Sam walked pass their room shouting at Josh.

  "Josh?"

  "Hey. What's going on?" Mark asked her.

  "There is no hot water coming out of the faucets."

  "Oh. Do you need help?"

  "Sure."

  "Ok. Hey Jack, set it up I'll be right back."

  Jack groaned and Mark smirked at his friend's antics, following Sam. As they walked down to the living room they heard Chris and Ashley talk.

  "How long do you think it'll take him?"

  "My money's on blankets for everyone!"

  So that meant that Josh still didn't manage to lit the fire...oh joy.

  "You can do it, man. We believe in you."

  "Yeah! Totally! Woo! Let's go Jo-osh, let's go!"

  Sam and Mark both rolled their eyes.

  "Okay well I am pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have...a spirit board."

  "Those things are a joke, man. They don't do shit."

  "No way bro. We used to do it all the time. Me and...well..."

  "Hey Josh. No hot water's kinda major oversight doncha think...?"

  "Yeah yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement. You guys see if you can find the spirit board," he turned to Chris and Ashley.

  "Chris, let's go find it! It'll be like a scavenger hunt!" said Ashley with enthusiasm while Chris followed tentatively, sending a last glance at his friends.

  "Ummmm...okay...guess so."

  "Rad. You're not gonna regret it."

  Josh then immediately turned to Mark, handing him matches.

  "You think you can get the fire going while we take care of the water?"

  "Sure, no problem," replied Mark, taking the matches from Josh. Josh and Sam left him alone in the living room, standing next to the fireplace. Mark sighed, crouching next to it. Well no wonder that Josh wasn't able to light the fire. He wasn't using chippings, nor paper. Mark grumbled under his breath about how he needed to do everything in this place. He redid the whole thing from scratch and soon enough he smirked when he saw the fire dancing on the wood.

  "Man make fire. Fire burn," he chuckled at his own joke, proceeding to move little chunks of wood into the fire so it would grow more stable. Suddenly he heard some screaming coming out of the basement.

  "Guys?" he walked to the door, trying to open them just to find out that they were locked. Suddenly he heard someone banging on the door from the other side.

  "Guys! Guys I can't open them!"

  He heard some muffled cursing from the other side. He prepared to burst open the door.

  "Oh come ON now why are these doors locked?!" Sam yelled from the other side.

  "To keep out strangers!!"

  Suddenly another voice joined them from the other side although Mark wasn't really sure what it was saying.

  "What? WHAT THE HELL?!"

  "Boom! You just got monked!"

  Mark groaned when he recognised Chris' voice. It was yet another of the stupid pranks his friends insisted on making. To be completely honest he didn't think they were funny at all.

  "WHAT!!!" Sam yelled and Mark could hear her annoyance even through the door. Well somebody is going to get it.

  "Nice. Nice one. That was good," Josh complimented Chris.

  "Why w...why would you do that?" demanded Sam angrily.

  "You get them girl," muttered Mark under his breath as he once again tried to open the door.

  "There's all this cool old movie crap down here. What, was I...was I not supposed to take advantage of the opportunity?"

  "Are you...are you serious? Were you in on this you putz?"

  Mark heard Josh laugh at that and he rolled his eyes. To be honest he wouldn't be surprised if both Josh and Chris knew all along.

  "Nope. But I wish I was! That was too good."

  Mark heard the lock click and Chris opened the door, looking more smug than Mark ever saw him before.

  "I'm ready to admit that your dumb little prank may have had a slight whiff of humor to it."

  Chris grinned at Mark who just shook his head. Children. They were all children.

  "The fire is done, I'm gonna go back to Jack," he informed Josh who locked the basement door behind him.

  "Thanks man."

  Mark decided to ignore the rest of his friends' fight. Instead he jogged up the stairs and into his and Jack's bedroom. The green haired male had everything set up and was now sitting on his bed.

  "Ready to record?"

  "Yeah. What do you want to do first?"

  Jack grabbed a little box and smirked at Mark.

  "Aw, man really? Bean-boozled challenge? You know I have the worst luck at that."

  "Don't worry, after that I planned the chubby bunny challenge."

  "Oh joy," said Mark but his face betrayed him as he smiled at Jack, closing the door behind him.


	3. Haunted/Isolation

  "No! I refuse! I fucking refuse! You guys are seeing this bullshit right here?! It's impossible! This game is rigged!"

  "Mark-" Jack wheezed from where he was sitting next to his friend who was in his full rage mode.

  "No! Don't Mark me you little leprechaun! Seven! We both had seven beans and you didn't get a single bad one! And what did I get?! FUCKING ROTTEN EGG THAT'S WHAT I GOT!"

  Jack once again started laughing although his stomach already hurt. Mark's eyes threw daggers at him.

  "You cheated!"

  "How could have I cheated. Dude you picked your own beans from the bowl!" Jack managed to say between fits of laughter. Mark threw a bean at him and Jack scowled at him.

  "Hey, don't waste them."

  They were looking at each other for five seconds before they both bursted out laughing. Once they calmed enough for them to catch their breath Mark once again spoke, this time more calmly.

  "But seriously...what are the odds?"

  "Don't ask me. You know that my mathematics skills suck..."

  "That's true. Ok. Last one. And if I don't get a good one, I'm not doing this ever again."

  "Fair enough," said Jack with a huge grin and spinned the little wheel of hell as Mark liked to call it. They both watched as it was slowing down until it finally stopped on one flavour.

  "NO! I refuse!" yelled Mark and Jack just laughed more.

  "Licorice or Skunk Spray..."

  "No. No! I'm not doing it."

  "Come on man. Don't be a chicken," said Jack, sticking his tongue at Mark. He just knew how to make his friend do something he didn't want to. Mark huffed, puffing out his chest before finally picking up one bean with the right colour. Jack did the same thing, showing the little bean to the camera before trying to put it in his mouth.

  "Wait. Let's swap them."

  "What? Why?"

  "So you wouldn't cheat you little bastard," said Mark half-heartedly, taking the bean from Jack, giving him his own. Jack shook his head with a smile and popped the little black bean into his mouth, chewing on it, Mark doing the exact same thing.

  "Hey. I got Licorice," said Jack with a huge smile, giving the camera two thumbs up. Then he quickly looked at his friend who gagged suddenly.

  "Mark?"

  Mark spat the remains of the bean in the bowl that was on his lap through the whole challenge.

  "I got Skunk Spray," he said, reaching for the glass of water they set up solely for this purpose. Jack scrunched his face with disgust.

  "Sorry man, it's just not your day today," he said as he patted Mark's shoulder.

  "This is complete bullshit. I just don't have luck in these things."

  "Well luckily for you and your taste-buds, the next part of today's video will be the chubby bunny challenge. But we will have a little twist today," Jack told the camera with a huge grin. Mark took a last sip of water, trying to get rid of the foul taste. Then he set the glass down, picking up a bag of soft yummy marshmallows.

  "Yep. We are going to stuff our mouths with marshmallows and then read several tongue twisters. And maybe even sing a song or two!"

  "Let's get this party going!" said Jack loudly, opening a bag of marsmallows.


	4. Loyalty/Malevolence

  They proceeded with their planned activities and after a lot of laughter later they finally decided it was time to wrap things up and see what their friends were up to. Jack looked at his phone.

  "Ugh...it's already twenty past midnight. When did that happen?"

  Mark chuckled as he was putting the camera away.

  "Well you know how it is. Time flies by when you're having a good time."

  "Awww...are we gonna share feelings Markimoo?" asked Jack teasingly, blinking rapidly at Mark. Mark laughed and threw a pillow at Jack's head.

  "I mean it you doofus."

  Jack kept giggling for a while but then he smiled at Mark.

  "Yeah I know. I still can't believe that people watch our channel though. It seems so surreal," he continued as he made his way to the door.

  "Huh...that's weird," he muttered under his breath.

  "What is it?"

  "Did you lock the door?"

  "No," said Mark, his brows furrowed with confusion. He came over to Jack, trying the door handle but the door didn't move.

  "Come on man, it's not funny," said Jack but Mark at him.

  "Jack I swear, I didn't lock it," said Mark, his tone serious. Jack frowned.

  "Do you think the guys are playing prank on us?"

  Mark was already taking out his phone, dialing Josh's number quickly. After a few rings he tried to call Chris, then Ashley. None of them were picking up.

  "What the hell is going on?" asked Mark more to himself than Jack. Their friends were really going overboard with the pranks sometimes.

  "Do you think we can get out?"

  Mark looked at the heavy door and shook his head.

  "I don't think so. They look pretty stern to me."

  "Well what are we gonna do? We need to get out eventually."

  "Alright, let's try them."

  After solid five minutes of them trying to break the door down they slumped against them, both panting heavily.

  "I don't think we're moving them. We're gonna have to wait for the guys to let us out."

  "But Mark," Jack whined. He didn't need to finish that sentence. Mark knew that his friend would probably lose his mind, knowing he can't leave. Mark chewed on his lower lip, thinking fevereshly. Then he got up quickly, walking to the window, opening it.

  "No."

  "Come on Jack, I know you can do it."

  "Forget it! You know I'm scared of heights..."

  "We're not that high, you know? I'll help you. Now come on, let's go."

  Mark was already halfway through the window and if Jack didn't want to be left alone here he would follow him.

  "You better buy me cake after this, you silly bastard," he muttered when he heard Mark drop to the ground with a loud thump. Jack went to the window and looked at his friend who was already waving at him to hurry up.

  "Dude...I can't," said Jack who was now regretting looking down. Mark just shook his head.

  "Of course you can! Come on, I'm going to catch you, so you don't fall. You trust me right?"

  Jack took a deep breath as he was climbing through the window. Yes, he trusted Mark with his life...but he didn't trust the height. He turned in the window, letting his body down inch by inch until he was finally hanging in the air. With final deep breath he closed his eyes and let go. The fall made his insides turn and as soon as he hit the ground two strong hands enveloped him, keeping him upright.

  "Hey, you made it. Good job," Mark chuckled into his hair when he hugged him tight.

  "Never ever ever do I want to do that again."

  Mark rubbed his back until Jack's legs stopped shaking. They let go of each other and Jack brushed off the few tears that escaped his eyes. Either Mark didn't see them or he chose to be good enough friend not to mention it.

  "Ash!"

  Both of them jerked their heads in the direction of the call.

  "Ash! Ashley!"

  "That's Chris," commented Jack. Mark nodded and started walking.

  "Yeah. It's coming from the shed. Let's go."

  They were walking through the snowy forest, trying not to lose their way in the darkness. Suddenly they heard a rumbling sound of a saw.

  "What the hell is happening?" muttered Mark, picking up his pace, Jack following his lead. When they both finally saw the shed they were almost running. The noises that were coming from the shed had both their hearts pounding in their chests as they barged in. Just in time to see the horrors that were going on inside.

  " _I see you chose to save Ashley,_ " a metal voice said above all of them.

  "No, no, no, no..." Chris started stammering and Ashley screeched.

  "OH GOD JOSH!!"

  "I thought we were FRIENDS man! I thought we were FRIENDS why would you DO THIS!?" Josh yelled, trashing in his bindings.

  "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!"

  Jack and Mark both ran towards the door that were leading to the room in which giant saw-blade was going towards Josh. But the third time that night the door wouldn't open.

  "Josh! Pull your legs up! Pull your legs up!" yelled Jack but the fear had prevented Josh from hearing the advice. Mark backed a little from the door, jumping on them with his whole weight. They finally gave up under this last assault but it was too late. The saw-blade was already cutting Josh in half.

  "NO! JOSH!" yelled Mark but he couldn't do anything for their friend. Chris ran over to Ashley, loosening the bindings at her wrists, while Jack and Mark just stood there, frozen in shock.

  "Ashley, don't look."

  "Why can't I look? Please tell me he's ok, please!"

  As soon as she was down on ground she saw Josh.

  "NOOOO!"

  "Shhh, we gotta go, okay?" Chris tried to calm her down, turning her away from the gruesome sight. Chris almost dragged her out of the shed. Jack was nearly out of the door when he turned back to see Mark standing there, looking at Josh silently. He went back to his friend, slowly reaching for his arm.

  "Come on man, we gotta go."

  Mark looked at him and without a word they walked out of this nightmare. As they were hastily making their way back to the cabin they met Matt and Emily.

  "Guys!" Matt called at them.

  "Blood! Blood! Whose blood is that, Mark?" Emily asked. It was just now that Jack noticed the blood that was covering Mark's front. Meanwhile Chris was trying to keep Ashley upright.

  "Are you okay?" asked Matt anxiously.

  "What happened?"

  "Josh is dead. A saw-blade cut him in half," said Mark blankly. Emily and Matt looked shockingly at Jack.

  "There's a fucking maniac up on this mountain!" Jack spat out.

  "Maniac?" asked Matt confusedly but Emily wouldn't let them explain.

  "Oh my god. We gotta get out of here."

  "Yeah. Yeah. Guys let's get the others and-" proposed Mark.

  "What? Mike and Jess are 69'ing each other and who knows where Sam is."

  "I think she's in the lodge," said Chris who was until now silent. Ashley was still shivering in his arms.

  "Ok. Jack? Go with Chris and Ashley and get Sam. I'm gonna go with Emily and Matt and we're gonna get some help."

  Jack nodded and the two groups parted ways.


	5. Dread/Prey

  Mark, Matt and Emily were making their way to the cable car station. They walked up to a gate which was standing between them and the way to freedom. Which was locked.

  "I mean we could probably climb over it?" asked Mark but Matt immediately shook his head.

  "There's a serious drop behind the wall man. We'd probably break something. Let's just walk another way."

  "Alright, I suppose," grumbled Mark, walking then as the first one, followed shortly by Emily, their little group ending up with Matt. Soon enough he heard whispering from behind him.

  "I can't believe Josh is dead."

  "I can't believe how he died..."

  "No I mean, what if they were wrong?"

  "What?"

  "Maybe we should have checked the shed to see if it was really true."

  Mark almost snapped then and there but what Matt said next helped him not to.

  "I don't know. There are some things that once you see them, you can never un-see them."

  "Yeah. I guess...but some things you have to see for yourself."

  That was just too much.

  "Oh sorry, you think I just covered myself in blood for fun?" Mark turned to Emily, catching her off guard. She at least had the decency to look sorry. So he turned back, huffing angrily before continuing his walk towards the building.

  "What's that?" asked Matt once they were close enough to see something coming out of the front door.

  "I think that might be an axe," replied Mark, who was going straight for it. He will feel so much better with an axe. He pried it free, taking few steps back from the door. Emily immediately tried to open them.

  "Oh what now? This is locked! Well break the door down will ya?" she turned to Mark. Before he could once again sneer at her, Matt stepped in.

  "Whoa, wait a second. We start smashing shit down he's gonna hear us."

  "You got any better suggestions?" she snapped at Matt. He and Mark started looking around, both of them coming up with the same solution.

  "The window Em."

  "That's great Matt. I can just about fit my lip balm through that little slot. You will never fit through there big guy."

  "I won't fit but you will."

  "Are you nuts? You're gonna shove my ass through that little hole?"

  "I've seen you slip into some pretty tight jeans, Em."

  "Uh? Excuse me?"

  "It's a talent!"

  Emily was looking at them furiously before finally going to the window.

  "Fine. Let's do it. Are you guys gonna help me or what?"

  Matt and Mark rushed to her, holding the window opened so she could climb in.

  "I could fit through there," Mark muttered. Luckily only Matt heard him. Once she was there they both let go of the window.

  "Oh my god. It's pitch black. I do not like this."

  "We're right here," Matt tried to calm her but his words fell on deaf ears.

  "I can't see anything! There's so much CRAP in here I keep bumping into!"

  "Can you find a latch?" asked Mark who was starting to regret that he wasn't the one who climbed through the window after all.

  "Ewww I think there are spiders in here!"

  "Be careful."

  "It's hard to be careful when it's freaking PITCH BLACK you dip!"

  "Hey I'm just trying to be helpful!" called Matt defensively.

  "Almost...I think...almost..." Emily said from the other side of the door. There was a click and she opened the door for them.

  "Wow. I did it."

  "Good job, Em. You rock."

  Mark rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the station. He found a light switch and turned the lights on. The station was a mess.

  "God damn."

  "What happened?"

  "This is crazy-"

  "We were just here like a few hours ago - this must have just happened!"

  Mark's grip on the axe tightened. He went to see that the cable car was out of their reach.

  "Guys. We can't get to the cable car. It's all way over there."

  They both stood beside him.

  "That's not too far, right? Matt you can jump it?"

  "I'm good Em but not that good. Flattered though."

  "Well Matt if you can't jump that, what are we gonna do?!?"

  Mark turned back into the car station, looking it over.

  "We just gotta find our way out."

  He then started searching for something useful while shutting Emily and Matt's conversation out. He needed to focus. He won't let anything else happen to his friends. No way, no sir. He tried not to look at his bloody front while he was looking through the mess. He headed for the control panel. There was a slot for a key for a start and stop. Great. Just great. Why did everything have to be locked? He turned to see a wall covered by big red letters, spelling out several _DIES_. It looked suspiciously like blood. Ok, moving on. Mark noticed a map that was knocked down. He came over to it, hanging it so he could take a closer look at it.

  "Hey guys! There's a fire tower up this hill. There should be a radio or something over there. Maybe we could call for help."

  "Good job," said Matt, walking over to Mark, looking over his shoulder to also see where it was exactly.

  "Guys! Come help me with this, would ya?" Emily called from where the cable car was. Matt went to see what was the problem while Mark took a last glance at the room. God how he wanted to get out of this place. He followed his friends. Somehow Emily managed to find a fleshflight and was now standing on some kind of ledge, Matt already following her down a ladder. Mark thought that it was good he didn't send Jack with these two. He wouldn't be able to get through this. Mark got a better hold on the axe, following his two friends. Just as his feet touched the ledder he heard Emily yelp out when she almost fell off. Luckily Matt was there to catch her hand, pulling her back a few steps, holding her tight around her waist.

  "You alright?"

  "Yeah. Uh...thanks. Maybe, um, you should go first. To protect me," she said as she went behind Matt who was now leading the way.

  "Maybe you should be less clumsy," Mark muttered under his breath. They were taking small steps, slowly making their way to the other side. Matt was muttering soft words of encouragment to Emily, and finally they were all standing on solid ground.

  "Holy cannoli, thank god that's over."

  "Yeah for real."

  "Let's go. Emily, light the way."

  They were all walking, the snow crunching under their feet. Mark couldn't help but wonder - what if the twins weren't missing? Would this stuff happen even then? The axe was a comfortable weight in his hand.

  "What if it doesn't work?" asked suddenly Emily.

  "What?"

  "The radio."

  "It'll work."

  "But...okay, if it doesn't...we need a plan."

  "Maybe...we can just climb down."

  "Climb down what?"

  "The mountain."

  "Are you serious?"

  "What's the big deal? It's not like it's floating in the sky."

  Mark wanted to support Matt's arguments but he was just so damn tired. He wasn't able to deal with Emily right now.

  "It might as well be, it's pitch black out!"

  "Hey, hopefully we won't have to."

  "You think the psychopath is just going to give up and run away?"

  At the mention of the psychopath Mark flinched. It must have been visible because Matt gave him a worried look before he continued his argument with Emily.

  "No...but...maybe we should find a safe spot, hole up, wait it out. It'll be a lot easier to figure this all out in the morning."

  "As long as we don't hide in the lodge. That's where he expects us to go."

  They fell silent after that. Mark wasn't sure he cared. The snow was crunching under his feet and his eyes were watching the beautiful nature around them. It wasn't fair. Why did this had to happen to them? First Beth and Hannah...now Josh...oh how he regretted his previous decision to split up. They all should have stayed together, find Sam, go get Mike and Jess and then head down the mountain. Now his friends might me in danger just because of a stupid-

  "Man, you ok?" whispered Matt to him, looking at him with furrowed brows in worries. Mark took few deep breaths, shaking his head a little to clear it.

  "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's just find that fire tower and get out of here."

  They all entered a clearing on top of a cliff. They made their way to the edge of the cliff where a piece of a danger sign was laying on the ground. Matt suddenly pointed at something.

  "Hey, that's the fire tower. We are heading in the right direction, come on let's go."

  As soon as he started walking back to the path, he backed to Emily. A whole pack of deer was surrounding them, forcing them closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.


	6. Psychosis/Vengeance

  The deer were barking, closing in on them. Mark was looking at those sharp antlers. That would hurt a lot.

  "Matt...! What are we gonna do?" Emily wailed.

  "Stay calm...relax...they're just deer...they just want to check us out is all..."

  Mark thanked the god that Matt was actually thinking with his head. The deer sniffed in their direction.

  "No no no Matt they're gonna hurt us-"

  "Shhhh," Mark calmed her, making the first step towards the herd.

  "It's gonna be ok," he said as he saw that the deer were actually making room for them to walk between them. He motioned to Matt to follow him so the later caught Emily's hand, dragging her with him. Mark was almost out of the way when one deer got to him closer than the others and sniffed him.

  "Easy buddy. I'm not gonna hurt ya," he whispered in a calming voice. He was just hoping that the deer wouldn't attack him. Even with the axe he wasn't too sure about his chances against such a big animal. It sniffed him, walking then to the rest of the herd. Mark looked back at Matt and Emily.

  "Just walk slow."

  Matt nodded and held Emily closer, walking with her. They then climbed over some rocks and they were fine.

  "Well that was something," Mark muttered when they were finally back on the path to the fire tower. He wouldn't have guessed he was such a deer whisperer. They weren't walking that long when they saw the fire tower above them. And then there was light. Lots of it. They were squinting at the source, trying to make out what it was exactly.

  "Ahh! That's freakin' bright!"

  "No kidding!"

  "I can't see - what is that?"

  "It's just a security light. Motion sensor probably."

  "Ugh...well at least we can see now," said Mark, shielding his eyes with his hand. They climbed the stairs just to find themselves climbing a ladder into the tower. Mark was climbing the last, holding the axe cautiously. He wasn't feeling like leaving their own weapon and source of self-defense behind.

  "Ugh, why is it so windy all of a sudden?"

  "We're almost inside..."

  They climbed the last ladder, entering a small cabin that was on top of the tower. Mark closed the trapdoor behind them. Meanwhile Emily already got the hold of the radio.

  "Great. No power. Gotta be a switch or something around here..."

  She opened the door and went outside, Matt and Mark following her shortly after.

  "I found a flare gun!" called Emily from somewhere around the corner. Mark sighed with relief. At least some kind of luck.

  "And I found the fuse box," said Mark to himself as he opened it, flipping the switch. Emily gave the gun to Matt as soon as she returned back to them.

  "We got the power going."

  "Great. Let's call for help," Emily said and she went back inside to get to the task at hand. The boys followed her, shutting the door behind them. Mark decided he would take a little rest, leaning against one of the cupboards that were there, holding the axe a little bit loose. He was so tired.

  " _-ranger service for Blackwood County. Over._ "

  "Hello?? Anyone there? Hello! Please say something if you're out there, please we need help!! Over! Over!!! Shit."

  " _...Hello?_ "

  "Oh my god! Thank god! We need help, please!"

  " _...Hello is someone trying to contact us? This is the park ranger service for Blackwood County. I'm not getting your signal very well. Please speak slowly and clearly, over._ "

  "Please! Please please please help! Oh my god we're stuck up on Blackwood Mountain and there's a maniac-"

  Maybe letting Emily do this wasn't such a good idea, Mark grimly thought to himself.

  " _...If you can hear this, please repeat your message as I am unable to understand what you are saying, over._ "

  "We need help please!"

  " _Hello? Can you please identify youself? Over._ "

  "Oh my god, okay, this is...my name is Emily...hello?"

  " _You're not coming through clearly, please repeat, over._ "

  "Oh God PLEASE! OH my GOD, we're gonna DIE UP HERE if you don't come get us, there's a MANIAC don't you understand!?"

  So much for slowly and clearly. Suddenly the security light turned on and Mark and Matt rushed over to a window.

  "What do you think it was?" asked Matt.

  "Probably a fucking deer," replied Mark while still trying to see what it was.

  " _I read you, ma'am. Please do not leave your position. We will send out helicopters to get you as soon as the storm has subsided, over._ "

  "Finally," Mark breathed out with relief. They would help them.

  "What? When? How long?"

  " _Dawn, at the earliest. Not until dawn, over._ "

  Mark, Matt and Emily jerked when something started banging on the trapdoor. Mark immediately jumped at it, kneeling down. Even with his weigh and the latch it was shaking violently.

  "Jesus!" yelled Matt, doing the same as Mark.

  "Oh my god, he's here, he's coming for me!" Emily whined in the background. As suddenly as the banging started it stopped. But then one of the metal ropes that were holding the tower upright snapped. And then another one. The tower started to tip over with loud groaning.

  "OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING!!"

  "Shit...Don't move..."

  The tower tipped even more. Mark with Matt managed to grab something and were now hanging in air but Emily didn't have such luck and she crached into a window. Luckily it didn't completely break under her.

  "No! Emily! Emily!"

  Emily turned and just in time saw how the radio got loose, falling on her. She rolled away, but the window didn't hold under so much weight, sending her falling down. She caught onto the railing, holding for her life. The tower couldn't take so much pressure and it all collapsed into a mine shaft. Mark couldn't believe their luck that they survived that but as soon as he took in his surroundings he had the feeling that that wouldn't last long. Everything around them was either on fire or about to fall down.

  "Matt! Mark!" Emily called and they both carefully made their way over to a more stable part of the whole building.

  "OH GOD HELP ME PLEAAAAASE!"

  "I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" Matt assured her.

  "Em, this is pretty unsteady over here..."

  "Matt you've got to do something right NOW what are you WAITING FOR!?!?"

  "I'm thinking! Let me think!"

  "Don't think, you idiot, just get me outta here!"

  "Emily...you're upset, you need to calm down, you're gonna be fine -"

  "Ugh, stop talking, I can't take it!"

  "Stop yelling at me and let me work this out, okay?"

  "Yeah you just take all the time you need, not like I'm going anywhere," Emily bit back.

  "I'm gonna try and get to you and pull you up."

  "Now will you please get me off this goddamned tower?! Please please please, Matt! Just do something!"

  The whole tower shifted and Mark had to catch something to not fall down.

  "Erm...Matt?" he called out but Matt was trying to reach for Emily.

  "I'm comin...here...ugh!"

  He almost had her, but the whole thing shifted again and she slipped from his hand, falling even further down.

  "Matt!" Mark tried again but Matt once again tried to reach for Em. The tower tipped and Emily fell down.

  "Emily!" Matt yelled after her. Mark looked around them as the tower started to groan and fall down under their feet.

  "Come on!" he yelled at Matt, catching his arm and running towards the edge. They jumped and fell into a smaller mine shaft. They were falling onto the ground, Mark ending up under Matt. He hit his head in the inpact, losing his conscious. Matt rolled off of Mark, groaning painfully.

  "Mark? Hey Mark," he shook with him but Mark didn't show any signs of life.

  "Buddy come on, wake up. I can't lose you too."

  There was a loud screech from somewhere deeper in the mines. Matt looked around them, his hands finding the flare gun in his pocket.

  "What the hell?" Matt asked when his eyes caught a huge shadow that was jumping around the mine. It was slowly getting closer. But he didn't wait long enough to find out what it was. He shot at it with the flare gun and once again heard the screech.

  "Take that you son of a bitch!"

  The shadow disappeared quickly and Matt sighed with relief. Then he turned back to Mark who was still unconscious. Guess they were staying here for some time.

 

\---

 

  "She wasn't up there?" asked Ashley when she met up with Jack and Chris under the stairs.

  "I don't know...I didn't see her. She must have come down here."

  "Well she wasn't where I looked," informed them Jack anxiously. Ashley was still covered in Josh's blood. The fact that they couldn't find Sam when there was a psycho on the loose was beyond bad.

  "Let's check the basement. Maybe she's there," Jack suggested and they headed to the door. A candle lit itself and he and Ashley jumped away from it, Ash letting out a silent shriek.

  "Ahh! Did that just happen?"

  "What the fuck!" breathed out Jack when he regained some of his cool.

  "Dammit! What is going on around here?"

  They walked to the basement in silence, looking around with their flashlights.

  "Ash, you alright...?" asked Chris suddenly when he saw Ashley's expression.

  "Yeah, I just...I know you and Josh were close, Chris--"

  Jack looked at Chris whose face hardened. All he and Mark heard were the words I see you chose to save Ashley. He wasn't really sure he wanted to know the whole story though.

  "Let's just find Sam, okay? That's what we're doing now."

  "But I mean Oh my god--"

  "Ashley! Just...stop, okay? I don't want to think about what just happened..." Chris snapped at her and she wanted to say something else but suddenly the door behind them closed, making them all jerk away.

  "What the heck!"

  Ashley caught Jack's arm, holding tight. Chris unsuccessfully tried opening the doors. Jack went to the door that were on the other side of the hall. He tried those. They opened but just a little bit before they shut themselves.

  "JESUS!" Jack yelled.

  "This is so eff-ed up!"

  They continued their journey through this maze, the door before them opening with a quiet creek. Ashley jumped a little but quickly recollected herself. Jack and Ashley walked into the next room and both froze when they saw a woman figure, walking behind a corner. Ashley backed a few steps, bumping into Chris.

  "Did you just see that?"

  _That was not Sam_ , Jack thought, holding the flashlight before him as some kind of a shield.

  "Uhh...Did I see what?"

  "That, Chris. That," Ashley pointed in the direction in which the woman went.

  "What 'that' was that?"

  "It was like...a see through shape. Like a ghost."

  "Oh boy."

  "I'm serious. Jack you saw that too, right?"

  "I saw a woman," said Jack who was still kind of processing what he actually saw. It looked like Hannah...but that couldn't be.

  "Guys, we've been through Hell tonight. Okay? Our minds are fried. I don't even trust what I've been seeing," Chris tried to be rational as always. But there was something in his voice that was...odd. Ashley apparently didn't notice that because she continued.

  "No!! You are wrong. I saw it. And I am sure, Chris!" at least she's been talking for herself because Jack wasn't sure what to think anymore.

  "Alright alright. Maybe...it's...maybe you did see something...let's just keep our heads."

  "Are we going crazy down here?"

  _Possibly_ , thought Jack grimmly.

  "Guys come on. We have to find Sam, she might me in trouble," he said and they both nodded. The door to the basement opened with a loud creak and Jack just wished they didn't have to do this.

  "Alright, let's go."

  They all walked down the stairs to the basement. The lights were flickering and Jack was reminded of every single horror game he played.

  _Bad shit always happens...the lower down you go the darker it gets and the worse it gets._

  There was banging somewhere deeper in the basement and the wardrobe opened itself with a loud bang that made all of them jump.

  "What the HELL is going ON!!" Ashley asked, turning around just to see a rocking horse start to move on it's own, making her let out a little shriek.

  "Whoa!"

  "Oh my god that scared me!"

  "Please tell me you actually knocked into it," tried Jack.

  "I don't - I don't think so...I mean, I don't know!! How did everything get so freaky around here?" Ashley asked, following Jack who just wanted to be out of here. Anywhere. Just not here. And that's when he saw it. A woman.

  "Wait!" Ashley caught his arm, pulling him back a few steps.

  "Chris-Chris-Chris-Chris-Chris!! The ghost!!"

  "What?" Chris turned around but the thing was already gone.

  "Didn't you see it?!!" Ashley asked him.

  "...no..."

  "You were looking at your phone, you dip! What are you tweeting!? 'Hashtag there's a freaking ghost after us?!"

  Jack didn't want this to escelate into a fight so he decided to jump in.

  "I think it looked like Hannah."

  "Wait wait wait WHAT?" Chris asked him.

  "Or maybe Beth!" Ashley weeped.

  Chris looked at them for a long time before finally turning to Ash.

  "What do you think they followed us up here from the seance?"

  Well this information was new to Jack. And not the kind he wanted to hear.

  "I don't know, maybe!!" Ashley replied heatily.

  "They didn't! Because ghosts don't exist, okay?"

  "You had a seance?" Jack raised a voice at them and they both looked at him with surprise.

  "Mmm...yeah..." Ashley admitted quietely.

  "Oh my god. You don't fuck with that stuff!"

  He was cut short by a loud woman's scream and a painting flying off of a wall.

  "What the hell?" asked Jack, slowly walking towards it. Ashley caught up with him and held onto his arm, while they were approaching the place where the painting was on the wall.

  "How does a picture just jump off the wall like that?" asked Chris from behind them. Neither of them really knew how to respond so they just continued walking.

  "A key?" asked Jack, while Ashley took the small object. It was indeed a key. It didn't look like the ones they used in the lodge.

  "What do you think it opens?" asked Jack, turning to look at Chris. Immediately his eyes grew large when he once again saw the woman, standing in the hallway they were just in, pointing at something.

  "Oh my GOD! There -- look there, Chris you can't tell me you didn't see that!!"

  Chris turned and obviously he saw her too because his mouth fell open.

  "Wow, that's..."

  "See? You do see it. We're not crazy."

  The woman walked towards something, disappearing from their sight.

  "That's...I dunno...I-I just-...this is fucking crazy..." he said, running towards the place where the woman stood just few seconds ago.

  "Dude!" Jack yelled after him, following him, Ashley right behind him. They got where the woman was, but there was no-one there. What was there was a creepy old doll house. Ashley was the first brave enough to look inside.

  "Look - look look look, guys! You can see in the windows."

  "See what? Tiny furniture?" asked Chris. He and Jack stood next to Ashley, using the flashlights to see inside.

  "No. It's a-" Ashley looked up. There was a small window on the house that was hiding a keyhole. She tried the key and it fit perfectly. She opened the front of the house and now they could see everything. But what did they see?

  "Whoa whoa whoa---what is going on here?"

  "Oh God! It's like--"

  "It's not 'like' anything. That's us. Hiding there waiting for Hannah. Last year."

  Now Jack recognised the scene. There were dolls of Mike, Emily, Jess, Matt, Ashley and Hannah in the lower floor. And the two dolls upstairs must have been Josh and Chris. He did know what happened last year but seeing it like this...

  "But...it's so accurate, I mean that's exactly where I was sitting...and that's where Matt was..."

  "This was setup by someone. Who was there."

  Jack wanted to say something but he didn't really know what. He was feeling sick when he realised that this was exactly what caused the twins to disappear. This was wrong.

  They should find Sam and then get out of here.

  "Or someone, or something that was watching us..."

  "Maybe it's a warning. I think someone...I think someone put this here to mess with us."

  "No it has to be the ghost, it's trying to tell us the maniac killed Hannah and Beth!"

  "I think it's this bastard, and he's...he's just trying to fuck with our heads."

  "Why would he set this all up, Chris?"

  "He's trying to tell us he's going to come after us all too."

  The doll that was Hannah moved it's head, opening it's eyes and they all jumped away from the house with a yelp.

  "Fuck!" Jack cursed when suddenly the roof opened. They looked in the small room that was under it. There was a pink diary with golden letters on it. Ashley took it, opening it at _January 9th, 2014_. She held it so all of them could see as they started to read.

_Mom finally agreed. The invitations are out! The party is gonna happen!! I HATE that I have to wait. So far Ash, Matt + Sam have said definitely yes. Nothing from Mike..._

_January 18th, 2014._

_O.M.G!! Mike confirmed!! He phoned Josh this afternoon._

_February 1st, 2014._

_Woohoo!! PARTY TIME tomorrow! Everyone being here together on the mountain is gonna be SO AWESOME, cozy fires and hot tubs and OMG MIKE. I am so psyched to spend some time with him! Totally got to stop obsessing but I can't help it - and don't want to._

  "Everyone being together here...on the mountain...is gonna be so awesome...cozy fires and hot tubs...cozy fires and hot tubs...and OMG Mike...I am so...psyched to spend some time with him - I can't read this! It's so sad..." said Ashley when she read few of the lines outloud. Jack felt like he was about to vomit. He once again wondered how he could have helped if he was here last year with Mark. The twins would be still alive and none of this would be happening. Somewhere a door clicked open.

  "What was that?" whispered Ashley, holding onto Chris.

  "It came from down there," Chris replied, going towards the door they already been to. It was the one against the wall where they found the key. They moved towards it and Jack pushed it open, slowly walking into the room. And that's when it jumped at him. Ghost with white eyes, blood all over it's gaping fangs...he screamed, trying to back away but the door closed behind him. He closed his eyes, preparing to die but after five seconds of silence he opened them again. He was alone in the room, no ghost to be seen.

  "Jack! Are you alright?" Chris banged on the door from the other side.

  "Yeah. I'm fine," he yelled back, opening the door for them.

  "What the hell was that?!" Chris asked.

  "I don't know. But it's gone," said Jack, realising how breathless he sounded. His heart was hammering mile a minute.

  "Let's just find Sam," he added when his friends were looking at him as if he was about to faint. They continued their journey through this nightmare when suddenly the earth under their feet shook and dust came falling down onto their head.

  "Uhhh?...What was that?"

  Before Jack could have said anything Chris spoke from where he was standing.

  "Wait there's a whole 'nother room through here. It's mammoth."

  Ashley stopped in her tracks, looking into the darkness before them.

  "I don't know if I want to keep going."

  Jack took her hand as they followed Chris.

  "What the fuck is this place?" asked Jack when he looked around the hall they were now walking in. Broken walls, dirt everywhere...this didn't seem like part of the lodge.

  "Did you know this was here?" Ashley asked Chris who seemed just as puzzled as Jack felt.

  "This? This is like a whole 'nother hotel. I had no idea this was here."

  Ashley stopped, letting go of Jack's hand.

  "I don't think I can take any more of this."

  Chris and Jack looked at her with worries. She was just about to cry.

  "All I wanted to do was forget last year ever happened..."

  "To be honest I'm not sure what Hannah thought she was doing."

  "Yeah...we...you know how it is when you're crushing pretty hard on somebody..."

  Jack suddenly felt like he was intruding. He knew that Ashley had a crush on Chris and Chris had a crush on Ashley and what she just said...maybe she wanted to finally confess.

  "Great, so you're basically saying that we put a vulnerable friend in a terrible situation and essentially caused her to run away and never be heard from again?"

  Wow, way to ruin the mood Chris! Jack thought but he knew that he was speaking the truth.

  "If it was you, don't you think you would have run away? I mean who likes being made fun of?"

  "People don't make fun of me."

  "To your face."

  "What?"

  "Chris we made her look so stupid, in front of all of her friends and the guy she liked. I can't imagine doing anything worse to somebody. Jack, back me up here," she turned to Jack for help.

  "I mean...it was a pretty shitty thing to do but there are lots of worse things you could do to somebody. For example leave them alone in their time of need. I am going for Sam," he said, kinda angrily. These delays were not helping anybody. He walked past his friends, going ahead of them. If he wasn't so angry and miserable he would know it was a bad idea going deeper into the complex alone but now he just wanted to clear his head. He was walking for a while when he came accross something that was sparkling with electricity and wisely he decided not to come near it. He also saw a manequin which reminded him of Mark. Neither of them were fond of manequins or animatronics but Mark seriously hated them. Jack couldn't help but wonder if the other group was ok and if they actually succeeded. He entered the next room cautiously.

  "What the-" he whispered, a small cloud of fog coming from his mouth. It was freezing down here. Saws and blades and hooks all around the walls...there was even an open pig on one of the tables. Where was he? He decided it would be for the best to go back, to find Ashley and Chris but then heard some noise coming from the corridor. He considered his options and after a while of thinking about it he decided to check if it wasn't Sam. He turned off his fleshlight and quietely walked towards the noises.

  "Sam?" he whispered. And that was a mistake. Suddenly somebody grabbed him from behind, putting something over his mouth. He yelled, kicking back and hitting his attacker in the knee. He heard cursing as the person let go of him. He turned back, staring into an ugly white face with black eyes. He tried backing away, the psycho before him grabbing his arm. He got away but he lost his balance and fell back first onto some table, hitting his head hard. His vision spinned and he tried to get up but the psycho got on top of him, placing something over his mouth and nose.

  " _I'm sorry_ ," he said with a mechanical voice, the white face last thing Jack saw before his eyes slid shut.

 

\---

 

  Jack opened his eyes slowly and the first thing he registered was the pain in his head. He looked around him. He was tied to a chair and in the middle of the room were Chris and Ashley. Also tied to chairs, a giant sawblade above them. Jack tried to scream at them, to warn them but he was gagged and his screams came out as muffled groans.

  "Every second that I spent with you was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my time," Chris told Ashley who was crying in the seat opposite of him.

  "What are you saying, Chris?"

  "I'm sorry...I should have told you how I felt," Chris said, gesturing with his right hand. Wait. He had a free hand? Why?

  "Ashley, I swear, when we get out of this-"

  He was cut short by the roar of the sawblade as it came to life.

  "Oh god!"

  "AHH!! No! Help, Chris!!"

  "Ashley -- I'll get you out of this! I won't let you die!"

  " _Hello there my special little subjects_ ," the same mechanical voice as the one Jack heard in the shed sounded from around them.

  "I'm so scared, Chris-"

  "Aw shit. Don't be scared-"

  " _Oh, you should be, Ash, because here's the twist: Chris has made one fatal choice already today, and now he must make another. Chris...you can take that gun in front of you and shoot Ashley, or you can shoot yourself. Whoever is left, can live! The choice is yours._ "

  Chris took the gun, pointed it up and shot into the sawblade several times but it didn't stop it. Jack felt how tears were streaming down his face and he felt as if his throat was on fire from screaming through the gag.

  _This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening._

  " _Don't be so silly, Chris,_ " the voice chuckled cruelly. Chris didn't do anything for a while, thinking about his choices. The sawblades were getting closer and closer and finally he shook his head, setting the gun down on the table.

  "NOOO!!" Ashley screamed and Jack closed his eyes so he wouldn't see the awful end of his friends.


	7. Loss/Violence

  But nothing happened. The sawblades stopped. A door flew open and Sam and Mike ran into the room. Just as the psycho was making his way towards Chris and Ashley.

  "Noo! No no no! Get away!!!!"

  Chris shot the rest of his bullets straight into the psycho's chest but to their great horror...nothing happened. Jack's eyes grew impossibly huge.

  "Oh Chris...oh Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris," the psycho shook his head.

  "What the fuck?!" Chris asked, looking back at the gun.

  "Oh you've heard of blanks before. I mean really?" the psycho said, walking over to Chris and Ashley. He took off his mask and Jack couldn't breathe. It was Josh. But...he was dead. Jack saw him die back in the shed.

  "...Josh?" Chris asked uncertainly.

  "Josh!" Sam said sternly. But Josh kept laughing.

  "Josh..." tried Mike this time.

  "Oh, oh very good! Every one of you! Got my name!"

  Sam helped Ashley get out of the bindings around her wrists and then turned to Jack, getting the gag off first.

  "And after all you've been through! Good, good-good-good. I mean how does that feel? Right? How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean, panicked? All those emotions that my sisters got to feel once one year ago! Only guess what? They didn't get to laught it off! No! Nope! No no no! They're gone!"

  "I don't know if you noticed this, Josh, but none uf us are laughing," Mike snapped at him.

  "Are you alright?" Sam murmured to Jack once he was starting to get up, leaning on her heavily.

  "My head hurts," he whispered back.

  "Oh come, come-come-come-come. Why the long faces? Come on! It's good to get the heart racing every now and then, right? And race they did, I mean, every one of you, just pitter-pat, pitter-pat! I hope you appreciated my little phantasmagorical spectacle! I mean, no detail too small! No opportunity missed! It was such a delight to play the puppet master to all of your Pavlovian panic! And all the gore? I mean, gore, there was gore galore!!! Fake bodies...I mean, God, that shit was expensive! And no retakes! Nope, nope, nope, only double takes! You should have seen your faces. Hook line and sinker. For every little stinker!"

  "Josh...why are you doing this?" asked Sam who was still holding Jack, who had the feeling like he might lose conscious once again.

  "Don't even ask this squirrelly little runt. He's got no clue. He's out of his fucking tree," said Mike heatily.

  "Well he's definitely off his meds."

  "Aw come on, you guys. Revenge is the best medicine!"

  "You're done," yelled Mike.

  "Mike, he's sick--" Chris calmed Mike down for a bit.

  "What? Come on, you guys are all going to thank me when you guys become internet sensations!"

  "What?" asked Jack angrily, making a daring step forward, almost falling to the ground. Luckily Sam caught him.

  "Oh you better believe this little puppy is going viral ladies and germs. I mean we got unrequited love. We got...we got blood! I don't think there's enough hard drives in China to count all the views we're gonna get, you guys."

  Jack was feeling sick. And not just from the head. Doing all of this, putting it up online just for views? That was beyond messed up.

  "What are you talking about you ass hat? Jessica is FUCKING DEAD," Mike yelled. Josh's smile immediately disappeared.

  "What?"

  "Did you hear me?!" Mike asked, quieter now, making his way towards Josh "Jessica is dead and YOU ARE GONNA FUCKING PAY YOU DICK!!!!" he yelled as he hit Josh into his temple. Josh immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.


	8. Animus/Revelation

  Jack was just sitting down when someone started banging on the front door of the lodge.

  "Let me in! Let me IN!"

  "Is that--?"

  "It's Em!!" said Sam.

  "Let her in! Quick!!" Chris called, already running towards the door, opening them quickly. All of them followed him, although Jack nearly fainted when he moved to quickly, so he had to stop for a moment before continuing.

  "Shut the door! Oh my God -- shut the door!!!" Emily said hastily, falling into the cabin, moving from the door. Sam and Ashley pulled her up to her feet while Chris closed the door.

  "Em, are you alright?" he asked her.

  "I didn't think that I'd make it--" she cried out, moving towards the couch in the living room. They all showered her with questions.

  "Something's out there. A monster-- it's a monster--!" was her only response.

  "Wait! Are you okay?" asked Chris, speaking loudly, cutting off everybody else. Emily was sitting on the couch, Sam holding her around her shoulders, Ashley sitting at her feet, looking up at her with concern. Jack walked slowly towards the couch, sitting there. His head was spinning from it all and he needed to rest at least for a while.

  "I'm fine, I don't feel anything, Ijust need to calm down. It was moving so damn fast--"

  "What?" Chris asked again. Jack frowned. One of Josh's created monsters?

  "I just had to get away--"

  "Away from what?" asked Sam, trying to get information from Emily.

  "Th-there was this thing, whatever it was--!"

  "Em, Em, you can relax...Josh was messing with us...but we-" Sam tried to calm her down but Emily just shook her head.

  "You're not listening to me."

  "Wait Em - where's Matt and Mark? Are they okay?"

  Jack perked up at the mention of Mark. What happened to his friend?

  "Oh God. We couldn't use the cable car so we climbed the tower and then it fell and we were down in the mine, like way down, down in this terrifying freaking mine shaft..."

  "Hold on hold on-" Chris slowed her down because she was starting to make no sense.

  "And then, it was us down there and...oh God I think that they might be dead."

  Jack's heart stopped. No. He refused to believe that.

  "How? Emily, what happened?" he asked her, tears welling up in his eyes.

  "I--I was walking down there, in the mines, and it was dark and I found this pile and there was Beth's head."

  "Wait, what?!" asked Chris.

  "Beth's head. I found it," Emily explained.

  "Oh my God!" Ashley whispered, pulling her legs to her chest.

  "What the fuck?"

  "Are you serious?!"

  "YES I'm serious! I think they fell down there. But the worst part is I don't think that Hannah ded, like, from the fall, not right away..."

  "What? What do you mean?!" Ashley asked her.

  "I don't know...I feel like she was down there...like, starving to death...for weeks...when we were all up here looking for her...we had no idea!"

  Jack was now thinking furiously. What if Matt and Mark aren't dead. Emily survived the tower collapsing...so what if they were just in the mines, trying to find their way out? What if they needed their help? His head hurt.

  "Jesus, that's...horrible..."

  "Listen. In...in the tower there was a radio and I-I got trough to someone - but that was right when the tower collapsed!"

  Mike rushed into the living room.

  "Em!" he hugged her tightly "You made it!"

  "Oh god, Mike-" she looked at him with horror in her eyes when she saw the state he was in.

  "Yeah, yeah, barely!" Chris said.

  "What about Matt and Mark?" Mike then asked.

  "We're trying to figure that out..."

  "And there was this 'monster' that was chasing her..." added Chris.

  "She's all messed up, guys. Emily? Hey, Em?" he asked her to make sure if she was listening to him but that was when there was banging on the front door.

  "Whoa."

  "Who the fuck can that be?"

  "What if it's Matt and Mark?" asked Jack, quickly getting up, running towards the door.

  "Jack!" Mike yelled after him but it was too late. Jack was already opening the door and a man with a flamethrower and scar across his eye walked in.

  "Who are you?" asked Jack, preparing to run again but the stranger didn't seem like he wanted to kill him. His friends came rushing behind them into the entrance room.

  "Who the fuck-" asked Mike, pointing his gun at the stranger who looked at him sharply.

  "Put that down," the stranger said with a gruff voice, shutting the door behind him. Mike, to everybody's surprise, lowered the gun.

  "Everybody just calm down. I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned. I don't know why you did after what happened last year," he said, walking towards the fireplace, dropping his bag right next to it.

  "You mean with Hannah and Beth?" asked Sam, sitting down onto one of the couches.

  "Yeah, how could you know without being involved--" said Chris while supporting Jack who was leaning against him. He was once again feeling like he might faint.

  "Or responsible--?!" added Sam accusingly.

  "You hold onto your horses. I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain-"

  "Your mountaint? I'm sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that." said Mike incredulously. The stranger chuckled.

  "Well this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo."

  "Who?"

  "What's he talking about?"

  "What the hell's a Wendigo?"

  "Let's hear him out."

  "Not like we have a choice."

  The stranger ignored this hushed discussion between the teens and continued.

  "Now I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons I want to...get it off my chest..."

  "See? I told you! He's guilty as shit! Guilty of something!"

  "Shh. Shut up Mike!" Sam shushed him.

  "There is a curse. That dwells in these mountains," the stranger continued "Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed. You're going to need to find somewhere safe."

  "The basement might be ok," Sam suggested.

  "Okay. Get down there, now. All of you. And wait."

  "What? Why? For how long?"

  "Until dawn," said Emily.

  "Guys...I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming," Mike confessed and the stranger looked at him.

  "Where did you leave him?"

  "In the shed..."

  "Your friend will already be dead."

  "No...no he can't be...we were just with him!" Chris spoke suddenly, making Jack jerk away from him.

  "A lot can happen quickly on this mountain."

  "No. I'm gonna go get him," Chris said heatily.

  "You can't go out there, Chris!" Ashley said but he argued right back.

  "I'm supposed to be his best friend and I let him down."

  "No...he let you down, Chris - he let all of us down."

  "I don't care. I'm going to get him."

  "Then I'll go with you," said the stranger, walking towards Chris.

  "I don't need your help."

  "Going alone is suicide."

  "Fine."

  "The rest of you - get down to the basement. Be safe. Don't go outside again until we're back."

  Jack was the fist one who moved towards the basement. He just hoped Mark was alright.

 

\---

 

  Chris, Mike and Ashley entered the little room they were all hiding in. Jack noticed Chris was leaving his right leg behind him a little bit.

  "Oh my god! Guys! Thank god!" Emily said when she spotted them first.

  "What took you so long?!" Sam asked.

  "It's not so good up there right now-"

  "Understatement of the night," commented Mike coldly.

  "Chris where's the flame thrower guy?" asked Sam. Jack thought he already knew the answer.

  "Ah...yeah...he uh..." Chris gulped and looked away.

  "He didn't make it...!?"

  "Oh NO!"

  "What happened?"

  "The thing it...it tore him apart-! Right in front of me!"

  "Oh god," Sam whispered. Mike started looking around quickly.

  "Alright. These all the doors?" he asked.

  "Yeah," Sam replied.

  "Are you sure?"

  "What are you looking for?"

  "Another way out," he replied, looking into the screens Josh had set up.

  "Mike...I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put, right here, until dawn, at least we're safe down here-"

  Jack couldn't help but agree with Sam but of course, Mike had a different opinion.

  "Oh? Yeah? All wrapped up like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?"

  "People will come for us. In the morning," Sam was desperately trying to reason with him but there was no use.

  "You don't sound so sure."

  "That's what'll happen. Right Em?"

  "Yeah...I mean...right?" Emily said but even she didn't sound certain.

  "Well you can wait. I'm leaving."

  "Mike...there's no key for the cable car-" Emily called after him.

  "Josh. He's gotta have it."

  "Josh?"

  "One of his dirty little tricks."

  "Great. Great!"

  "If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh...then...we're shit outta luck."

  "I don't know Mike...it's possible..." said Emily.

  "What's possible?" asked Sam.

  "It may have taken him down to the mine..."

  "What?" Mike questioned her and she started explaining, turning around slowly.

  "I saw some horrible stuff down there...I think it's where the thing lives...and...huh," Emily cut herself short, taking some sort of book, looking at it.

  "Em? What?" Sam asked her again but Mike jumped in.

  "Fuck it. I'm gonna get that key. Right from that thing's goddamned bedroom, and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here."

  Jack looked at him tiredly. Wished he could believe what Mike was saying.

  "Em...what is all that?"

  Sam and Emily were just rummaging through some kind of backpack, pulling out all sort of stuff from it.

  "It's that old guy's bag."

  Mike walked to them together with Ashley and Jack's head perked up a little. This could maybe help them get out of here.

  "Is that a map?" Mike asked, looking over the girls' shoulders.

  "The guy was prepared for anything."

  Mike huffed out a humorless laugh at Sam's comment.

  "Not quite."

  "What is this place?" asked Emily, pointing at something on the map.

  "Oh my God," Mike muttered.

  "Wait wait wait. What is that?" Sam asked him.

  "I was down there. It was horrible."

  "You were?"

  Mike took a deep breath, nodding slowly.

  "I found these plans - they knew the mine was a death trap, but they let the miners keep working anyway. And...I'm not sure what it means but I found this chair, with dried blood all over the place...like somebody's been tortured..."

  Jack didn't know if he wanted to scream, laugh or cry. Why? Why all this had to happen to them? The feeling of powerlessness was clutching his chest, making it hard to breathe.

  "Michael, I'd like to maybe, focus on how we're going to get the fuck out of here please?" Emily asked and for once Jack had to completely agree with her. Who the hell cares what happened around here? They needed to get help. They needed to find Mark. Tears started prickling in his eyes. None of this was fair.

  "I'm just saying it's weird how much crazy shit's gone on up here..."

  "What's weird is that there's a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanatorium, see?" Emily showed them on the map.

  "That's how I got back here," Mike confirmed.

  "I saw this. When I was down in there. That's where it lives."

  As they were all leaning over the map, Ashley suddenly touched Emily's right shoulder.

  "Em...Em what is that...?"

  "...huh?"

  "What is that?" Ashley asked, her voice growing on intensity.

  "Ash..." Emily tried.

  "Em, oh my god oh my god oh my god! Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Ashley started panicking, slowly backing away from Emily together with Mike.

  "It's nothing, I just - it bit me, and -"

  "It bit you? What bit you?" Ashley asked.

  "The ah...the Wendigo."

  "The what?"

  "It's nothing, really, it's not a big deal-" Emily assured them.

  "You okay?" Sam asked her, worries heard in her voice.

  "Shit," Mike muttered under his breath.

  "It doesn't hurt anymore. Really. It's not that bad," Emily tried again but Mike looked at her coldly.

  "Em...if that thing bit you..."

  "I know what you're thinking. And I'm fine."

  "Are you?"

  "Yes!"

  "Emily at least let us check it out," Sam proposed.

  "Emily...if the Wendigo bit you...you could turn into one of those things."

  "Oh that's ridiculous," Sam rolled her eyes. Jack agreed. Were the rest of them listening? The guy said that only people that did cannibalism would turn into Wendigo. He would have told them if their bite was dangerous.

  "He said it was from EATING each other - remember, he said that!" Ashley jumped in.

  "That's not how it works," he told Ashley but she was panicking too hard and it was nearly impossible to reason with her.

  "No! It happens if it bit you, you're gonna turn into one and then you're gonna turn on us Oh my god Oh my god OH MY GOD!"

  "Ashley, stop freaking out!" Jack raised his voice at her, making her stop at least for a while.

  "You can't be down here with us," Mike said slowly.

  "WHAT?!" Emily demanded.

  "MIKE!"

  "You gotta go."

  "Are you kidding me?!"

  "You're putting us ALL in danger!"

  "Like hell I am!"

  "Emily...you can't stay here."

  "Mike...just cool your head, okay? We don't know if it works like that. Maybe it's just a bite," said Sam and Jack finally had enough.

  "Of course it doesn't work like that! Did you have potatoes in your ears while he was telling us about the wendigos? Only cannibals turn into them! And as far as I know Emily didn't eat anyone. So calm your tits everyone!"

  They were all standing there, Jack frowning and panting heavily. He had enough of this. He lost too many friends already and he wasn't going to lose another. Mike took a step forward Emily but Jack got in the way, challenging gleam in his eyes. Which was impressive because Mike was a lot taller than him. Mike was looking at him for a while before finally murmuring something under his breath.

  "Keep an eye on her...if you see anything weird...you guys know what to do. No one leave. Okay? It's not safe out there. I'll be back soon," Mike told all of them, turning and leaving the room without a second glance. Jack, exhausted from this little escapade, sat on the table next to Sam. He sat on something and so he reached under him and realised it was a book. He opened it on the first page.

  "I thought...that...that he was going to help us..."

  "Who the flame thrower dude?" asked Sam, her voice hushed a little so she wouldn't disturb Jack in reading. He didn't start though just yet. He was just staring at a pictures on the first page. The Wendigos looked horrifying even as a sketch and he wasn't sure he wanted to see them in person.

  "Now we don't have a chance..." Emily said with a resignated voice.

  "No, guys, it just means we've got to be tough. We gotta do this on our own."

  "I don't know if I can," Emily shot a glance at Ashley who was standing in a corner of the room, looking somewhere else. Who knew what was happening in her head. Jack looked back at the book finally reading it's contents. How Wendigos start to exist, how they look, how they hunt. Tragedies in the mines. One particular information caught his eye.

  "This says that because the Wendigos are...mutated...from humans...when they hunt us they know how to perfectly mimic their prey...do you think it means shapeshifting or vocal?" he asked Sam but she just shrugged her shoulders. He continued reading. Something about the guy trapping the Wendigos and not killing them, because the spirit would be released. He turned the page and after a moment of reading he jumped up.

  "AHA! I told you the bites aren't infectious! Emily, you're gonna be fine!"

  Emily looked at him and then at Ashley with hateful look.

  "Wait, let me see that," Sam insisted, taking the book from Jack.

  "Shit. Shit-shit-shit...we've got to get to Mike, like now!" Sam said, putting the book down, leaving the room first, the whole group following her, neither of them noticing the gun that Mike left there.


	9. Despair/Karma

  They were all going through some dark tunnel, Sam, Ashley and Chris carrying flashlights so they could at least see where they were going. Sam was a bit ahead, the rest of them trying to keep up with her, but Chris couldn't go that fast with his injured leg.

  "Come on guys! Hurry up! We gotta find Mike. Come on!"

  Chris leaned against a wall to catch his breath. Emily continued while Ashley and Jack walked to him, to make sure he was alright.

  "Hey...ahhh...I'm kinda gimping out here, guys...I think maybe you should go on without me."

  Jack wanted to reassure him that they weren't going to leave him here but Ashley beat him to it.

  "No, Chris. We are not leaving you. We're sticking together. Mike will jsut have to wait."

  Chris looked at both of them with relief in his eyes and he started to limp after Emily and Sam. They walked up to Sam who was trying to open giant metal door.

  "Oh shit. Mike must have locked it behind him. CRAP! There's gotta be another way in."

  They looked around for a bit before Ashley spotted a sewer in the ground.

  "Wait, hey! What about this?"

  "Oh...huh," Sam sighed with relief as she jogged over to them.

  "I mean, should...should we try it?" Ashley asked, glancing at Chris with worries in her eyes as he was once again leaning against a wall.

  "Well it's not like we got a whole lot of choices here..."

  Asley started to open the sewer and Jack helped her, so she wouldn't fall backwards once they leaned into it. Jack, Ashley and Sam grunted as they moved it away so they could all go down the into the tunnels.

  "Okay this is maybe the last place I'd wanna be right now," Ashley said as they were all standing around the sewer, looking down into the pitch blackness of it.

  "So who's going first?" asked Sam after a while they were just looking at each other. Jack would have laughed if he wasn't so fucking scared to actually go there first. Sam didn't wait long for a response, she simply climbed down the ladder without looking back up.

  "Not so bad," she said, trying to reassure them and herself equally.

  "You think this is the tunnel to the Sanitorium?"

  "Of course it is. Where else would it go?" Ashley said. As Sam slowly reached the bottom, Emily followed her and soon after her Chris and Ashley. Jack went last and as he looked back at the lid he decided to close it.

  "Hey, guys, I'm gonna close this, so nothing can follow us, alright?"

  "Yes, fine. Close it. But we gotta keep moving. Can you just catch up? Please?" Sam called after him as they were already walking through the tunnels.

  "Or you could just wait, but you know, no pressure here," he grunted under his breath as he closed the lid. He looked down and saw Ashley standing there.

  "Hey, you waited," he said, a sense of relief washing over him.

  "Yeah. You didn't have a flashlight and it's pitch black here, so I thought I would stay with you."

  "Thanks," he told her once he stood next to her. They shared a last glance and after that they started walking in tracks of their friends. They were just walking past another shaft that was connected to this one when they saw lights of their friends. Jack wondered how they managed to get so far ahead so fast but he didn't get to think of it for long as Jessica's voice came from the second shaft.

  "HELP ME!"

  Ashley and Jack looked at each other.

  "H-hello? Who's there...? Anybody?...Jessica? Is it you...?"

  They heard Jess' crying. But something was off. Just as Ashley started moving towards the shaft, Jack caught her wrist.

  "Where are you going?"

  "I'm going to help Jess. She's down there," Ashley tried to move away from him but he didn't let go.

  "No. No. Mike told us that Jess died, remember? Wendigos mimic other people. They are trying to lure us away. Now come on, let's go find the others."

  "But...Jack, what if-"

  "No what if. We're going," he said firmly and after a while, Ashley gave the shaft one last glance before nodding her head. They joined their friends who were standing under what looked like a crumbled down stairway to the upper shaft.

  "Look...look there!" Ashley pointed and Jack looked over there.

  "Fucking great," he grumbled.

  "The ladder's toast, we're never going to make it up there!" Ashley said as she stood next to Sam.

  "No no no, I think I can...I think I can do it. It's like...a rock wall," said Sam thoughtfully, already making her way to the steep wall.

  "I'm gonna keep going...you should head back to the lodge, I've gotta get Mike."

  Jack wanted to protest but he knew neither of them were able to climb the wall. Sam was the only one who could do it.

  "Good luck!" he called after her as he, Chris, Emily and Ashley turned and headed back.


	10. Repentance/Resolution

  Matt dropped down after Mark from a small drop. Mark was still recovering from being uncoscious for such a long time from the blow to his head but at least they were trying to find their way out now. Matt already told him everything about the shape he saw and he hoped they could find an exit quickly. Matt found an old lamp and some lighter that was probably left behind by the miners when they left the mines. He lit it, picked it up and turned just so they could see a shovel being swinged at Matt's head.

  "Whoa!" Matt yelled and caught the shovel with his hand, making it break in half.

  "Jesus! That could have taken your head off!"

  "Jess? Is that you?" Matt asked when he saw who was the one wielding the shovel.

  "Jesus Jess, what the hell happened to you? How the fuck are you still alive?" Matt asked her and Mark couldn't really blame him for wondering that. Jessica was covered in bruises and cuts, the left side of her face just red and swollen with them.

  "Yeah..." she breathed out. She was probably not completely conscious at the moment. Mark slowly walked towards her, draping an arm around her waist so she wouldn't have to stand on her own.

  "How did you end up down here?" Matt asked her softly. She looked up at him, her blue eyes filling with tears.

  "Mike and I were...we were messing around and...and...then it was...we..."

  "What?" asked Mark who had the feeling as if they were losing her. She snapped out of it a little bit, looking at him for a change.

  "I don't-I don't know...I was by the window and there was all this glass and...it was in the snow and then...it was...moving so fast, fuck...and then I was, I was down here..."

  "Jesus..." Matt breathed out.

  "We should go," Mark said, holding Jess still as she leaned against him, sobbing quietely, no tears longer escaping her eyes.

  "Yeah. Yeah, let's go."

  They were walking through the mines, Matt lighting up the way, Mark more dragging than helping Jessica walk behind him. They heard several scrieches and Mark had the feeling they were getting closer. Mark murmured words of comfort in her ear when the sound came right from behind them.

  "Fuck!" Mark cursed and Matt turned to look at them.

  "Quick, in here," he said as he spotted a small area behind a wooden wall. Running with Jessica would be a really bad idea right now. They hid there, standing completely still as something moved behind them. Jessica almost fell over at one moment but Mark's grip on her waist got even tighter. She cried quietely in pain.

  "I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"

  She nodded slightly and so he loosened his grip a bit.

  "Alright...alright..." said Matt who was looking outside from their hiding spot, motioning to them to come out. They rushed their way as fast as they could, the thing closing on them. They came to a momentary stop when they arrived to a boarded dead-end behind which they could see light from the outside.

  "Come on man, just break through it!" Mark said as he looked behind himself, seeing the monster that was chasing them. Matt did as he was told, nearly falling off of ledge in the process but soon he made a room for them and Mark pulled Jessica with him outside. The thing stuck it's gross head outside, looking around, obviously searching for them. Luckily it didn't turn their way and they breathed out with relief when it ran off into the mines. Mark looked at Jess who was on the verge of fainting, and then at Matt who breathed heavily from the adrenaline rush. They made it. That was until they heard familiar voice calling from the inside of the mines.

 

\---

 

  Jack was standing completely still in the lodge, with his friends, praying for their lives. Sam was running up the stairs, from the basement but she froze once she noticed the Wendigo, holding onto the huge ball that was hanging from the ceiling.

  "Don't...move...don't fucking move a muscle..." Mike whispered towards her. She did as she was told and the Wendigo was looking around, not seeing anything until two other Wendigos crawled up from the basement. It spotted them and jumped onto the reiling of the upstairs. One of the new Wendigos jumped at the original one, trying to jump at it and kill it, but the original one was way bigger and stronger, smashing it into the stares and then throwing it to the side. Mike started moving slowly towards a lightbulb the Wendigos still not paying them any attention as the bigger one ripped the other's head off. That was until a wooden floor creaked under Sam's weight. The big Wendigo turned towards her, letting one of the inhuman sounds that were filling up the lodge for quite some time now. It made a step towards her and Mike took his chance to crack the lightbulb. Jack could see from the corner of his eye as Chris made a run for the door. The Wendigo turned to Mike this time, jumping on the covered armchair, looking straight at him.

  "Hey!" Sam yelled from the other side of the room, making the Wendigo turn it's head and let out a screech. Emily ran out of the lodge to safety. Jack thought that he should do that too and soon. But he was too focused on what was going on before him, he couldn't move from fear. He saw as Ashley started slowly inching her way towards the door. But the Wendigo was now walking towards Sam, who stood there, watching it with her eyes but otherwise not moving. It came so close to her that the next scriech it let out must have been deafening. But she didn't move. The Wendigo started walking away from her and she quickly rolled behind one of the pillars. Ashley ran out with the last glance at the scene she was leaving behind her. Jack decided he won't chance this and also ran out. He ran and ran until he finally slumped next to his friends onto the snowed ground. Chris was holding Ashley who was shivering, Emily hid behind a tree. But not Jack. Jack looked back to the lodge. There was another scriech, louder than any other before and Mike ran out of the lodge. He ran over to them, dropping himself hard on the ground next to Jack.

  "Where's Sam?" Jack asked him but just as he did the lodge blew up with flames, Sam being thrown their way by the explosion. Mike rolled over to her, making sure she was alright. Jack stood up and with horror saw as some kind of spirit flew out of the lodge with a final deadly scriech. It was over. It was finally over. He looked at Chris and Ashley who were still holding each other tight, not willing to let the other one go. Sam and Mike were sitting on the ground, blankly looking ahead of themselves. And Emily was still behind the tree, her eyes closed, tears going down her cheeks. They all heard a loud sound from above and as they looked, they saw helicopters. Jack waved at the pilot to let them know there were survivers and a pilot of one of them waved right back.

  "We're saved," breathed out Emily who now stood next to him, looking up with him, watching as the helicopters was trying to land somewhere.

  "Not all of us," he said bitterly, trying to will the tears away.

  "You should probably learn how to count Jackaboy," a deep voice from behind them said and they all turned their head in shock. Through the snow were walking Mark, who was carrying Jessica bridal style, Matt right behind him with Josh on his back.

  "Jessica!" Mike cried out, immediately jumping up, running over to Mark, taking his burden from him gently. Jess smiled up at him and he returned the smile, kissing her gently on the forehead. Matt let Josh sit down and he himself turned to Emily who fell around his shoulders, crying into his jacket. He hugged her back, murmuring words of comfort into her hair. Josh was oddly silent but as soon as Sam sat next to him, he broke down, sobbing out his sorries. She hugged him, shushing him into silence once again. Jack and Mark watched all this before finally looking at each other. They both looked horrible. Mark still had the fake blood on the front, several scrapes and broken glasses, Jack was covered in dirt that was now being washed off of his face with the tears of relief. He walked swiftly towards Mark, forgetting about his own exhaustion, pulling the other in tight hug. They were both still sniffling when they let the other go and despite all they have been through in this single night they smiled.

  "Where did you find Jess and Josh?" asked Jack much later when they were walking towards the helicopters.

  "In the mines. I thought Josh was dead. We saw him die and then I found him in the mine. What happened?"

  "I'll tell you later," Jack promised as the hellicopters were taking off. And although they were going to be seeking professional help and having nightmares in the future...in this moment they were just glad that they all survived until dawn.


End file.
